Wes McKaeff - Al-Terra

Lloydminster, Saskatchewan
Team member since 2025

Department
Geomatics

What was the most valuable lesson that you learned from your education?
While going to school at the University of Saskatchewan to get my Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, a professor in one of my classes once said to always listen to your site foreman, because he will know more about construction and construction processes and techniques than you, an engineer will. This struck a chord with me at the time, a young student, thinking that I am being trained as an engineer, how could a site foreman know more than me, having the education I was getting. Once into the work force after convocation, it became clear to me that, even though some people don't have a formal education from a university, trade or technical school, they have learned from others on the job and have amassed vast amounts of knowledge about their particular trade. It clearly goes to show you that "the school of hard knocks" and "on the job training" can be just as effective as a formal education. NEVER discount the knowledge and skills others have, you could learn something!

Do you have any hobbies?
I like to "tinker." In today's society, everything seems to be manufactured to be "throw away" if it breaks or becomes inoperable. I find it enjoyable to take something that is broken and try to repair it and make it work again. I also like to work on cars. I have been working on my own vehicles since I bought my first car when I was 20 years old. My oldest son is now a Journeyperson Automotive Service Technician (a fancy term for a mechanic!), and it has been fun having him as a source of knowledge while doing maintenance and repair on my vehicles. He even helped me replace my own van's engine in my driveway! It was a lot of work, skinned knuckles, and some colourful language, but in the end, very rewarding! One last hobby is mountain biking, and just enjoying being outdoors in general, exploring new areas, or just enjoying places I like to visit!

Describe a rewarding moment within your professional career.
There is not one really specific moment that comes to mind when someone asks me this question. What I remember are projects that I have been a part of and remember the role I played in taking that project to completion. Whether it be doing a pre-construction topo survey of a completely green site prior to construction, setting piles for a new building to be constructed, doing an as-built survey after a project is complete so there is data for future considerations, analyzing submitted tenders to determine who will be awarded a contract to construct a project, or just entering daily notes into a log for records. All these actions are part of a much larger, more complex process, sometimes involving hundreds, or possibly thousands of others. Just knowing that I have played MY part, whether small or large, in this process that ultimately brings a project to completion makes me feel proud to have been part of that team.

I joined the Al‑Terra team full time as a Senior Geomatics Technician in the Lloydminster office in April of 2025 after three years of helping out when needed as a Survey Assistant for Marker Geomatics. I have a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, and over 18 years of experience in industry including the environmental consulting sector, municipal operations and engineering with The City of Lloydminster, and construction surveying. My time in the workforce has given me a wide variety of skills and experience that I bring to the table for Al‑Terra, including AutoCAD drafting and computer skills, surveying using both conventional and GPS technologies, and problem solving. I strive to achieve accuracy and efficiency while performing surveying or other data gathering for projects so that the project engineers, planners and others can have a solid, reliable information base with which to start, continue, and wrap projects up for clients on time and within budget.

I have excellent communication skills and like to make sure that I am communicating clearly with clients, either expressing information to them, or listening to their specific needs or problems, and passing that information on to the people that may need it to ensure proper work flows and processes, or to solve the problems being communicated.

I would like to think that I am reliable, transparent, and knowledgeable and that I bring these traits into all that I do, both personally and professionally, either internally within the company, or whilst dealing with members of the public, clients, either potential, or existing, or any other persons or groups that I might deal with daily.

Outside of work, I like to stay active, explore new areas of interest, read, and stay in touch with family and friends.